Mesa Builds E175 Management Team

Mesa Airlines moved to position itself to add 30 new Embraer E175s over the next year into United Express service with some key management changes announced in late January.

Mesa has chosen senior vice president of flight operations Mike Ferverda to lead the E175 induction. Ferverda joined Mesa Airlines in 1990 as a first officer in the Beechcraft 1300 and has served as captain, flight instructor/check airman, assistant chief pilot, FAA designated examiner, FAA director of operations, divisional vice president and senior vice president of Mesa’s China joint venture. Plans call for other senior managers to join Ferverda to work exclusively on the E175 project.

Meanwhile, veteran Mesa captain Kevin Wilson has accepted an offer to become vice president of flight operations. Wilson joined Mesa in 1989 as a first officer in the Cessna Caravan and now has logged more than 19,000 hours of flight time.

During his career at Mesa Wilson served as director of systems operational control, check airman, chairman of the ALPA Central Air Safety Committee and chairman of Mesa’s ALPA Master Executive Council. Wilson has led and managed several special projects at the company, including the design and implementation of Mesa’s fuel-efficiency program.